Jules Richards
Parenthood
JULES RICHARDS, 39, started cycling to get fit for a marathon after breaking his back. Quickly progressing to JOGLE and long-distance triathlon, he had to reduce his training time when he became a father and changed career in quick succession.
“I grew up in Cornwall, so surfing and skateboarding were my thing. It wasn’t until I broke my back snow boarding in 2001 that I started exercising to keep myself healthy. In my mid-20s, I came out of hospital after having my back brace removed to find I’d got into the London Marathon, so I started training on stationary bikes.
“After the marathon, I got into triathlon, so that’s when I bought my first road bike. The following year, in 2008, I attempted the ride from John O’Groats to Land’s End with friends to raise money for charity. I worked for an oil field company at the time and the job allowed me to work around my training.
“When I moved to Bristol, I retrained as a personal trainer and my own exercise had to take a back seat, so my training wasn’t very structured.
